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| SpaceX's Mars rocket has successfully landed for the first time |
SpaceX successfully launched and landed the prototype of the interstellar spacecraft for the first time, overcoming the great challenge of Elon Musk's search for a fully reusable Mars rocket.
Compared to previous prototypes, Musk said, the SN15 missile has undergone hundreds of design improvements, and all prototypes have been destroyed in the attempted landing.
The SN15 spacecraft took off from SpaceX's Texas facilities and flew more than 6 miles to test this maneuver.
When the summit is reached, the SN15's three Raptor engines will gradually snap into place to trigger free fall from flat surface to ground.
Near the ground, both engines were restarted for complex landings and the missile was directed vertically before landing.
The missile fired a series of calves and landed steadily on a concrete platform near the launch pad. This made it the first surviving prototype on a spaceship.
After landing, a small fire appeared near the bottom of the rocket. "This small fire is not surprising in the presence of methane," the company said. "It is extinguished within minutes."
About 7 minutes after landing SN15, Elon Musk posted a tweet announcing his success. The previous four models exploded when trying to land.
The SpaceX spacecraft system is designed to carry people and up to 100 tons of cargo to the Moon and Mars.
The 16-layer prototype like the SN15 represents only the top of the spacecraft, and the bottom is a massive booster that can be used to launch the top of the spacecraft before returning to Earth.
Musk first explained the planned landing of the Starship at a media event in September 2019.
He described it as a single movement that would launch the missile belly in the air towards the ground, while the four blades would move slightly to maintain stability.
It is a maneuver designed to simulate the way paratroopers fall in the air, Musk said, rather than simulate the vertical landing that SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket uses to prepare for a landing.
Knowledge of landings is essential to creating a completely reusable transportation system to carry crew and cargo on long trips between the planets and help people return to the Moon, Mars, and the United States.
Not all prototypes of spacecraft missiles are nearly as powerful as the end product that Musk envisions.
Although most experimental aircraft have three engines, the final spaceship is expected to have more than 30 engines, including a large rocket engine known as the "super heavy" that will be used to enter orbit.
SpaceX has not publicly tested the super-heavy booster, although Musk hopes that the "spaceship" will reach orbit within a year.